POC Media Week 3: July 30 – Aug 5

I was working most of this week and had very little time to enjoy life. My entertainment was split nearly fifty-fifty. I wonder what I’ll do when the Olympics are over. My hours of entertainment will probably decrease overall. Ideally I want to maintain an even ratio by consuming more diverse media, not by cutting out other media. Once again, suggestions are appreciated.

Paper Droids:
Pass. Formerly known as 404. Awesome geek girl magazine. (approx. 30mins)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce:
Fail. I loved this book and I’ll be writing a review soon. However I don’t think a single one of the many characters Harold meets during his pilgrimage across present-day England was a person of color. (approx. 10 hrs)

Olympics:
Pass. Yay Gabby Douglas! Yay Usain Bolt! Yay Oscar Pristorius! Love love love the dedication of these athletes. (approx. 5 hrs)

Pretty Little Liars:
Pass. I’m getting pretty tired of it though. I don’t like being in perpetual suspense. At this point only the cute outfits make me keep watching. (approx. 1hr)

Tar Baby by Toni Morrison:
Pass. The prose in this book is amazing. I guess that’s why Ms. Morrison is a Nobel Laureate. Funny story though: I found this book in the way back of the bookstore on the tiny sliver of a wall reserved for “black writers.” Not impressed with you, Chapters.

POC Media Week 2: July 23 – July 29

I did much better this week. Sixteen hours of entertainment had diverse people/characters while seven hours did not. This supports my guess that the books I read and movies I watch are critical. The Olympics helped too.

I have a long queue of books but TV/movie suggestions are appreciated!

Kevin Hart videos:
Pass. For obvious reasons. (approx. 30 mins)

ClutchMagazine:
Pass. The content of this online magazine targets urban African-American women. (approx. 30 mins)

That’s So Raven:
Pass. I loved this Disney channel show as a child!  Raven and her family are goofy and loving, and the show doesn't turn race into an "issue." (approx. 30 mins)

Who is Sugar:
Pass. Sugar is a super fabulous YouTuber. Her vlog covers everything from fashion, hair, and beauty. Her cat Tiny co-hosts. (approx. 10 mins)

Pretty Little Liars:
Pass. Same as last week. (approx. 2 hrs)

Continuum:
Pass. A classmate suggested I watch this show. I’m not feeling it after the first three episodes (I’m not the biggest sci-fi fan; take those elements away and the show is kina meh.) but there is a fair bit of diversity in the cast. I expected more Asians though since the show takes place in Vancouver. (approx. 3 hrs)

Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul:
Pass. This book highlights characters from a slum in Port of Spain, Trinidad. (approx. 2 hrs)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce:
Fail. This is the story of one man and that man is white.  (approx. 4 hrs)

Olympics:
Pass. The house party section of the Opening Ceremony was full of win. June’s hair? *swoon* I love it. And of course the Parade of Nations was a gorgeous sample of the peoples of the world. I love the Olympics. :) (approx. 6 hrs)

The Fellowship of the Ring (movie):
Fail. There are no people of color in Middle-Earth. At all. Stop looking for them. No existen. (approx. 3 hrs)

A Time to Kill:
Pass. Movie set in Mississippi about a white lawyer defending a black man. Random fact: I saw a clip of this movie years ago and thought it was To Kill a Mockingbird. (approx. 2 hrs)

POC Media Week 1: July 14 – July 22

On Tumblr I wrote about my commitment to extend my POCreading challenge to all my entertainment. Since a significant amount of that entertainment includes reading, I think it is fitting to record my progress here. 

This week will count as my baseline because I put no effort in finding entertainment with diversity. Looking at the results, I can tell this is not going to be an easy challenge. Although I have an equal number of entertainment with diversity as not (six to six), the time I spend on each is drastically different. My "diverse" entertainment was mostly blogs and YouTube videos. The total for the week is approximately 3.5 hours. On the other hand, the movies I watched and books I read were predominately white and took up more than 40 hours of my time. Yikes.

Below is the breakdown for the week. What great TV shows and movies should I be watching? Leave suggestions in the comments section!

404 (soon to be Paper Droids), a blog for geeky girls:
Pass. One of the editors is a woman of color and their content is inclusive. (approx. 10 mins)

GirlXoxo, a book blog:
Pass. Blogger is a woman of color and her content is inclusive. (approx. 10 mins)

Cherish My Daughter, blog and Youtube channel dedicated to natural hair care:
Pass. (approx. 10 mins)

The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón:
Fail. The characters may not be Anglo-Saxon but they certainly are white. (approx. 4 hrs)

Various pieces by/ about Issa Rae:
Pass. This woman inspires me so much that dreamt I had coffee with her. We sat and talked and she gave me advice about being a black woman entrepreneur and chasing my goals. She’s incredibly talented and hilarious. I’m a big fan. (approx. 1 hr)

Various erotica ebooks:
Fail. There was one character who was Maori but of course he was described as savage, primal, and animalistic. (approx. 18 hrs)

X-Men movies:
Fail. Storm is in it and she’s a major character but considering it was an ensemble cast, people of color were sorely underrepresented. (approx. 3 hrs)

Taren916, natural hair/ lifestyle vlog:
Pass. She’s a positive and genuine biracial woman. (approx. 1 hr)

Harry Potter movies:
Fail. Kingsley is in there and so are the Patil twins. There also was a fair amount of diversity in the extras. But extras do not equal protagonists and it would seem the heroes of the wizarding world are white. (approx. 4 hrs)

The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises:
Fail. Sorry Nolan but Token!MorganFreeman is not enough for me. (approx. 5 hrs)

The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy book:
Fail. In fact reading about all the movies together made me realize just how big of a fail it was. Among the characters important enough to be mentioned in the chapter about casting, Lucius Fox was the only black person. There are a few other people of color in the trilogy but they are not protagonists and tend to die early (note the number of people of color Joker and company kill compared to the number of people of color there are in the movie). And, as the icing on the white male cake, there were only three notable women characters in the trilogy—Rachel Dawes, Miranda Tate, and Selina Kyle. FAIL. (approx. 8 hrs)

Pretty Little Liars
Pass. Emily is a queer woman of color and as one of the four main protagonists she can’t be dismissed as a token. This casting is impressive since the character is white in the books. (approx. 1 hr)

Watching What Happens

I did not write a blog post about the season premiere of Being Erica because, truth be told, I found it a bit underwhelming. But, as I am not one to publicly bash my favorite show, I will wait until after the second episode to give a good critique.

So instead I turn to my favorite reality show. I watch way more reality TV than I would like to admit but since Top Chef is pretty respectable (it did win an Emmy after all) I don't mind talking about it.

I am very excited for Top Chef: All Stars. I think any fan who had been watching since the beginning (Remember that season? The one with the host who was not Padma?) always wondered what would happen if their favorite cheftestants went head to head. Now we will finally find out!

The official list is on bravotv.com so I won't rewrite it here. I do have my own list of the chefs I am most excited to see back.

From Season 1, I can't wait to see Tiffani back in the kitchen. She was bold, sometimes abrasive, and the inspiration of what I would argue is the most memorable Top Chef quote of all time: "I'm not your bitch, bitch!" She made it all the way to the finals and, as Tom Colicchio said, could have won. Maybe she she will prove once and for all that the original is still the best!

The return of Casey from Season 3 is also exciting. My heart broke when I watched the finale of her season because I felt she was just off her game that day. She had shown throughout her season that she is a phenomenal chef.

Season 4 had so many talented chef so it is not surprising that out of the four contestants they brought back I am excited to see three. Richard, Spike and Dale are very different chefs with very different personalities but there was never a time during the show that I doubt their passion and ability to put out delicious food. Sigh. Someone really needs to invent taste-o-vision. Or Top Chef needs to come to Toronto.

Fabio and Carla are returning from Season 5 and apart from being great in the kitchen they also had really fun personalities. Carla went all the way to the finale. There was some controversy, with some people blaming Casey (who was her sous chef) for the loss but I think that's nonsense. Carla had an off day and did not cook "her food." After learning that lesson I'm sure she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

I liked Jennifer from Season 6 because she was such a hard-core chef. She was clearly one of the forerunners from the beginning and I think she will do well in this new season.

And then of course there is Season 7's fan favorite. I really love Tiffany. She was fun and smiley and always brought her A game. I teared up just a tad when she got eliminated.

Top Chef: All Stars will premiere December 1st. I'll be watching. Will you?

Missing Erica

Tomorrow is Wednesday and I have nothing to which I can look forward. She would come by every week to fill my heart with laughs and tears. But now she's gone. I miss her already.

Okay, maybe that's a tad overdramatic. But when "Being Erica" had it's season finale almost a month ago, I was left with an entertainment void that has been hard to fill. It's amazing how attached one can get to television.

This time last year, I was in South Florida preparing to move to the arctic tundra. My first priority was to catch up on pop culture. Though I would be a repatriated Canadian (I was born in Montreal, raised in Florida, and now lived in the Greater Toronto Area) I did not for a minute think I would be exempt from culture shock. So, I changed my homepage to cbc.ca and tried to learn Canadian culture by osmosis. It didn't work.

Flash forward to January. Walking through Union Station I was bombarded with the building's wall to wall "Being Erica" wraps. There was something unnerving about walking over the face of a smiling woman. Still I paid no attention. Until that fateful day when I accidentally clicked the sidebar ad for the show. Don't you hate that? You're on the internet trying to procrastinate and then some ad pops up and next thing you know you can't even remember what you were trying to do in the first place! Very annoying.

The ad brought me to the "Being Erica" website, which led me to the blog. It was hilarious. So I did the logical thing and watched the episodes that were online. Fabulous. From that day on I was hooked. I watched every episode as soon as I could both on TV and online. I would then immediately run to Erica's wall (because by this time of course, Erica was my Facebook friend) and leave comment. Then I would scurry over to the Facebook group dedicated to the show. It was great fun. Before I knew it, I had a favorite show in Canada.

That was invaluable. Prior to "Being Erica" I was scouring YouTube for episodes of my favorite American programs. I remember bawling because I missed the finale of "Top Chef Season 4." But now there was a show that was Canadian through and through: it was shot in Toronto with Canadian actors and was aired on CBC. That's as canuck as you can get with out picking up a hockey stick. There was a sense of community and exclusivity; I had the joy of both recognizing my city as the backdrop to the show and of knowing that for once Americans were clamoring to find a Canadian show. (A quick aside: I find it strange that ABC Family has picked up "Sophie" which was kind of lame in my opinion, while, as far as I know, no American stations have picked up "Being Erica.")

And then, all too soon, it was over. The show concluded with an emotionally charged cliff-hanger of a finale. Then nothing. The marketing team, who up to this point had been amazing on giving Erica presence off the show, cut the cord and left viewers desperate for more. The video blog that preceded the season was not resumed. Erica's Facebook page is not updated. And every Wednesday at 8:59 EDT I realize that there's nothing to watch.

Why He's Number One

[Spoiler Alert! In the following post I assumed you've already seen the movie!]

As The Dark Knight enters its fourth weekend on the big screen, one thing will still be certain: it will still be number one. And now I know why.

Plot: The plot was not the Dark Knight’s strong suit. It seemed both convoluted and condensed; too much was packed into too short a time (is it not a sign of the times when I call a movie with a 2 hour and 32 minute run time too short). It seemed to make sense in the beginning, Joker conspiring with the mob bosses and whatnot. But around the time the judge is killed, the plot started to unravel. The myriad of entangled alliances did not make it any easier for the audience to keep track of the many plot twists. And I’m still confused about Gordon’s resuscitation. But to be fair, the plot was far more substantial than any other summer blockbuster and by the time it did fall apart too many things had blown up for anyone to care. 3/5

Cinematography: Okay, as a disclaimer I must inform you that I am not an expert in the field. In fact, odds are I have no idea what I’m talkin’ ‘bout. But this film was for the layman as well so here goes. I thought they did a good job with the overall look of the film. There were enough light scenes to keep the audience from becoming overly depressed (I’m talking to you Harry Potter!), but enough dark scenes to let us know that this was still a Batman movie. The stunts were also quite spectacular. Batman’s fight scenes seemed well choreographed. I especially liked the scenes in Hong Kong. As for explosions, I think the demolition of the hospital was my favorite in terms of grandeur. The sets were all pretty amazing. But I was more enthralled by Batman and his gadgets. The Bat – pod was very cool as was the glider he used in Hong Kong. I can’t think of anything to reproach (probably because I’m not an expert) but I think I saw Christian Bale’s stuntguy get off the bike and walk into the warehouse (at the commissioner’s funeral). I could be wrong. 4/5

Acting: Maybe it’s because he’s an amazing actor or maybe it’s because I secretly want to have his children. Either way I could not get over how phenomenal Christian Bale was. I like the progression in Wayne’s character since Batman Begins. He was less the brooding rich boy and more the charismatic billionaire. This made the contrast between Bruce Wayne and Batman all the more striking. To be fair, I have to admit that the entire cast did a phenomenal job. Maggie Gyllenhaal added depth to Rachel’s character. I doubt Katie could’ve pulled off dying without screaming like a damsel in distress. (No offense to Mrs. Cruise.) Aaron Eckhart did a great job as Gotham’s district attorney. By the end of the movie I believed in Harvey Dent! This made his mental breakdown painful to watch. There is speculation that Two – Face might make an appearance in the next movie but in my (humble) opinion, it’s not necessary.

Of course, I can’t forget about Heath Ledger. I’d bet money that his performance alone was the reason a third of the audience came to see the movie. He didn’t disappoint. He transformed Joker from a disgruntled clown to a terrifying menace. It was the body language that did it. The little ticks, twitches, and mannerisms created a unique character whose personality could not be compartmentalized. This Joker was not crazy. He was deliberate in his actions and careful to anticipate the reactions of others. He was, as he put it, “an agent of chaos.” 5/5

When all is said and done all that matters is the audience perception. In 2007 you didn’t need a critic to tell you 300 was a good movie. All the people screaming, “THIS – IS – SPARTA!!” made it clear. So, I could tell you that I have given this movie a 5 out of 5. Or I could simply ask, “Why so serious?”

Re: Yay Internet!

I just saw this while browsing and it made me laugh. This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post. I must admit, I’m a “citizen” of at least three of those “countries.” LOL Enjoy!
www.xkcd.com/256

Yay Internet!

This is my first post since I moved from South Florida to the Greater Toronto Area. (Honestly it’s my first post in quite awhile but that’s not the point.) I have so much to write about: the ordeal and culture shock of such a big move (Canadians really do say “eh”!), the implications of Barack Obama winning the Democratic nomination (¡Sí, se puede!), and the failure of U.S. immigration policy (Because deep down inside we all know the Mexican are not invading as Lou Dobbs would have us believe.). But all that is on that back burner. Tonight, I’d like to write about my new love affair with the Internet.

Yes, I, who clung to pen and paper like baby koalas cling to their mothers, am now the Internet’s number 1 fan. I know what you’re thinking: What took so long? I guess it can be attributed to various reasons. The major one is what is usually called (in media circles) the “digital divide.” Basically, it’s the dichotomy between those who use the Internet and those who don’t. I was formally staunchly place in the column. For me the Internet was a chore and tool – to be used only if a malicious teacher assigned a heinous research project. Also, I only had restricted access to the Internet. The only computer that had Internet access at my house was in my parents’ bedroom. I could only go online when it was convenient for them to be standing over my shoulder. You know that fable about the fox who, try as he may, couldn’t reach the grapes and subsequently decided they must be sour? Yeah. I was the fox. And the Internet was sour grapes.

So why the big change? Well, college happened. Laptops happened. Moving happened. All of these things in some way helped my inch toward the Internet. First, my so called “best friends” decided to abandon me to go pursue “higher education.” Yeah. Whatever. We tried calling each other, but when we each got our respective phone bills, the daily phone calls were cut short. This created a need for an alternate form of communication. Then my mother, as a graduation gift got me a laptop. My friends got so excited, thinking I would join them in the 21st century. But it didn’t happen. See the laptop came with strings. There was no wireless internet at my house rendering the laptop useless unless I was on campus or in library – which ultimately perpetuated my view of Internet as a chore and a tool (see above).

The final push over the edge came this summer after the aforementioned move. I now have wireless internet (yay me!) but my friends are exponentially further than they were before. Enter AIM. So simple. So powerful. In the three weeks since I’ve moved I’ve talked to my friends more often than in the 10 years that I’ve known them. The thousands of miles melt away the instant you receive the message. (Please forgive the pun. It will never happen again.) This completely redefines relationships. Friendships used to be shattered by the words, “I’m moving.” The “long – distance” relationship used to be the anathema of dating. But now the distances aren’t so long and the move is never that far away. The world has been shrunk to size of your buddy list and perhaps we’re better for it.

Pirating Ideas: Is No Thought Safe?

I recently came across two articles on http://www.cbc.ca/ that really made me realize how tenuous copyrights can be.

The first article was about a lawsuit between George Lucas's company Lucasfilm Ltd. and a Mr. Andrew Ainsworth over the rights to the stromtrooper helmets. Apparently, Mr. Ainsworth, a prop designer who made the helmets for the 1977 Star Wars movie, has been selling replicas.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2008/04/08/stormtrooper-lucas.html

The second article was about another lawsuit. This one feature J.K. Rowling against a Mr. Steven Vander Ark. Mr. Vander Ark is planning to publish a book called Harry Potter Lexicon based on his website.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/04/14/potter-lawsuit-rowling.html

These situations are similar in several ways. Both feature billionaires against the average Joe, tempting the casual observer to side with the underdog. Both of these "average Joes" seem to be trying to cash in on someone else's success and, considering the size of the other party's pocketbook, who can really blame them?

What concerns me is this concept of intellectual property. That is, who owns the idea? I strongly doubt that Rowling and Lucas are suing for money. Perhaps I'm being over idealistic, but I think they are suing for the ability to say "It was my idea first."

Notice, Rowling had no problem with Mr. Vander Ark when he was just runnig a website. In the article, she admits to visiting and appreciating his website. She did not feel violated until he tried to make money of it.

Because of the vast popularity and wealth of the Star Wars franchise, it is easier to say that Lucas is suing Mr. Ainsworth out of greed. But it is also because of the ubiquity of Star Wars that Mr. Ainsworth can not credibly say he did not violate any copyright laws. I am sure Mr. Ainsworth has worked on plenty of other movie sets (if he is indeed a prop designeer by profession) but somehow I doubt he is making replicas of those props in his garage to sell online. Is it fair for him to take advantage of Star Wars' popularity simply because he had access to some forms?

At the end of the day, it comes down to pirating. pirating has become the pariah of the music industry and it is slowly extending to other forms of media as well. It is unfortunate because it may deter many talented people from publishing their work. Why share your masterpiece when some hack is just going to rip you off later?

It is also damaging to those who simply want to explore their creativity. There are dozens of websites devoted to fanfiction. These site allow fans to write their own story using characters from a show, movie, etcetera. These sites appeal to overzealous fanatics (that is typical Harry Potter or Star Wars fans) who want to see their favorite characters live beyond series. What happens when overcautious authors or filmmakers start targeting these well-meaning fans because some hack who wasn't so well-meaning set a dangerous precedent?

Mr. Ainsworth and Mr. Vander Ark would best serve themselves and their community if they would come up with there own ways to make money. If Mr. Ainsworth is such a creative prop designer he should start his own line of action figures or become a sci-fi costume designer. If Mr. Vander Ark is seriously pursuing a writing career, he could consider creating a mythical encyclopedia of his own, then developing a fantasy series besed on his entries. In both examples they would make alot more money and it would be their idea.

Say Auf Wiedersen to Runway?

Now, I always take AOL news with a grain of salt but I was pretty distressed when I saw this article. Apparently, there is a good possibility that season 5 of Project Runway will move from BRAVO to the worst of all TV networks - Lifetime!

I know, I know, the horror is overwhelming. But it seems like the process is already underway. In my opinion, Lifetime had a good reason for trying to nab such a great show, but ultimately it will be a lose-lose situation for all parties involved.

BRAVO: Project Runway is a great show with a passionate fan base. Losing it would be akin to losing an arm - not fatal but really really painful. Not to mention the huge amount of advertising dollars that comes with Project Runway. TRESemme hair care, L'Oreal Paris makeup, Saturn, BLUEFLY.com, and ELLE magazine all poured money into making Project Runway a succes. Where is that money gonna go? Lifetime?

Lifetime: Sure they would be getting a great show to add to their line up. But the question remains: will the fans follow? I for one wouldn't watch Lifetime for anything. Also would Project Runway really improve their ratings? If people did tune in to Lifetime for Heidi's sake, they'd watch Project Runway and only Project Runway. Most likely they would use DVR to record it and skip the commercials - meaning that Lifetime advertisers would not reach a wider audience than they did before.

The Fans: After four succesful seasons on BRAVO, is it really necessary to move the show? BRAVO has a certain culture that the audience knows and loves. Lifetime has no culture. Or if it does, it is a dull bland culture that is about as enticing as cardboard flavored tofu. I could not imagine watching Project Runway and then seeing a commercial for Lifetime's next made-for-TV-movie about battered women. It just doesn't fit.

In other words no one would profit from this deal. Things should stay just the way they are: Project Runway continues to be one of the Top 5 shows on BRAVO and Lifetime continues to be a pathetic channel for pathetic women who have nothing better to do with their pathetic lives. That's just my opinion. But then again that's all that matters ;P